HWKN Architecture is an international architectural innovation firm based in New York City. Founded in 2008, the firm is led by Matthias Hollwich alongside partners Jessica Knobloch, Dorin Baul, Robert May, and Olga Snowden, with collaborating offices in Munich, Miami, Berlin, Riyadh, and London.
The firm’s work addresses today’s biggest challenges through future-forward thinking, while working on neighborhoods, buildings, and installations – mapping opportunities, establishing forward-looking typologies, and designing unforgettable buildings. Honored in Fast Company’s ranking of the world’s top 10 most innovative architects, the design team shapes the future for people, communities and investors alike.
When you were a kid, what did you dream of becoming? Did any of those childhood ambitions lead you to where you are today?
Matthias Hollwich: As a kid I had three phases. Phase 1 was shaping the excitement of new things. My family traveled for every holiday and I always saw new places, new countries, and new people. Phase 2 was a challenging experience in a school that did not fit my personality and talent. It was one of the most challenging years until Phase 3, when I switched schools and from one day to another my grades improved. I had friends and I realized that circumstances are key and we can change them. This is when my curiosity about architecture and urbanism emerged… being able to create a better world for people.
Is there a particular designer, artwork, or design movement that deeply inspires you? How has it influenced your own style or philosophy?
MH: I was influenced by three architects that I had learned about during my education and ended up working for. Diller + Scoficio, Peter Eisenman Architects, and Rem Koolhaas. The most important of the three was Ricardo Scofidio (Ric), who recently just passed. I met Ric at a summer school in Venice and he invited me to intern in New York. This was the “kick off” of my career.
Was there a specific turning point or experience when you realized that design was your true calling?
MH: In my youth, when I first learned about the profession of architecture — coming from a family rooted in veterinary and medical fields — I began to wonder why so many buildings around us were underwhelming. I started walking through cities, imagining places that felt more connected to their history, or that could serve as truly inspiring destinations.
The real turning point came during a summer school in Venice. My university had a strong technical focus, and many of my peers went on to design the very kinds of buildings I had always questioned — and honestly, I might have ended up doing the same.
But in Venice, I was introduced to the idea of bringing poetry into architecture — of using form and space as tools to evoke emotion through endless experimentation. It was there that I met Ricardo Scofidio, and everything changed.
